Don't miss the biggest first aid lesson ever

Almost 100 schools in the South West – including 16 in Devon – have signed up to St John Ambulance's Big First Aid Lesson, with less than a month to go until it is broadcast.

The free, one-hour, online first aid session (www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlesson) hosted by television presenter Claudia Winkleman will be streamed into classrooms on Friday 12 June.

And St John Ambulance is helping to address public opinion in the South West that first aid lessons should be a national curriculum requirement*, according to research it recently carried out.

The charity also found that nearly 55 per cent of children in the region have no life saving knowledge at all; leaving them without the skills to deal with basic emergency situations.

Mum of three, Claudia Winkleman, said: ‘The Big First Aid Lesson is a fantastic and engaging way of teaching students the skills they may need to help keep a classmate or a family member safe in an emergency while they’re out on the playground or enjoying their summer holidays.

‘All schools should make teaching young people basic first aid a top priority.’

So far, the Big First Aid Lesson will be reaching over 130,000 school children nationally with over 1,000 schools signed up, but there is still time to sign up.

The lesson will combine first aid training and 999 scenarios with real life stories, as well as plenty of opportunities for pupils to join the conversation via Google Hangouts. It is aimed at students between seven and 16-years-old.

This year’s event will focus on first aid skills that might be needed over the summer holidays and pupils will learn how to confidently deal with head injuries, asthma attacks and anaphylactic shock, which can happen to people who have allergies.

The only equipment schools will need is an internet connection and a screen (such as an interactive whiteboard) for their pupils to watch in the classroom or during assembly.

St John Ambulance’s regional director, Steve Hargreaves said: ‘Our Big First Aid Lesson addresses the public's desire for first aid education in the classroom while it doesn’t feature in the national curriculum. We hope they can help us motivate their child’s school to take part – it could be the most important lesson they ever learn.

‘Like parents and teachers, we want to give children the best start in life by giving every young person the chance to learn first aid. There is nothing worse than feeling helpless in an emergency and although we hope they’ll never need to use these skills, they can be a real life line.’

For more information about the Big First Aid Lesson or to register, go to www.sja.org.uk/bigfirstaidlesson